"There remain, however, many uncertainties and risks which could delay or even reverse this path to recovery"
-George Provopoulos, Bank of Greece outgoing governor
The Euro Working Group, that includes Eurozone finance ministry officials and representatives from the European Commission and European Central Bank, has approved the disbursement of the next batch of Greece's bailout loan on Friday, after the country met outstanding reforms goals that had delayed the payment. Greece successfully met six targets, including passing legislation and reforming pharmaceutical sector to lower pharmacies' profit margins and consequently prices, which formed the condition for the 1 billion euro instalment. Eurozone finance ministers are expected to formally approve the loan in a meeting in Brussels on July 7.
Greece has relied on international financial help worth a total 240 billion euros from other 18-nation area's countries and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010, when it became unable to raise funds on bond markets due to the financial crisis. In return, as part of the conditions for its bailout it has had to overhaul its economy and impose spending cuts and tax hikes, all under a strict supervision of its creditors. Greece successfully returned to bond markets in April, when the yield for the nation's five-year bonds fell below the 5% threshold to 4.95%, while the auction was oversubscribed.
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